High-Stakes Games

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This year’s Olympics in South Korea are likely to cost far less than the $21.9 billion spent on the 2014 winter games in Sochi, Russia, experts predict. Yet hosting these events can bust a city’s or country’s budget. Since 1960, 47% of the games have had cost overruns above 100%. How much do you know about the cost of putting on previous Olympic games?

1. The most expensive Summer Games over the period of 1960–2016 cost which city $15 billion?
A. Rio De Janeiro
B. Athens
C. London
D. Beijing

2. Montreal, Canada, experienced the largest cost overrun for a Summer Games, way back in 1976. By what percentage did those games exceed their budget?
A. 266%
B. 720%
C. 151%
D. 90%

3. The Olympics have been found to have the highest average cost overrun of any similarly scaled project. What’s the average percentage overrun of the games since 1960?
A. 156%
B. 125%
C. 230%
D. 110%

4. What was the average cost of the six Olympics held from 2004 to 2014?
A. $12.8 billion
B. $8.9 billion
C. $16.3 billion
D. $15.6 billion

5. Held in 1964, the cheapest Summer Games cost $282 million in 2015 dollars. In what city were those games held?
A. Tokyo
B. Mexico City
C. Moscow
D. Munich

6. The cheapest Winter Games, held in Innsbruck, Austria, also occurred in 1964. How much did they cost in today’s dollars?
A. $135 million
B. $215 million
C. $22 million
D. $164 million

7. Since 1960, what have been the average costs in 2015 dollars for the Summer Games and the Winter Games, respectively?
A. $7.5 billion and $4.2 billion
B. $4.8 billion and $2.6 billion
C. $5.2 billion and $3.1 billion
D. $6.8 billion and $3.8 billion